Lecturer: Miljen Matijašević G10, room 6/I, Tue 11:30-12:30 Session 9

Unit 12

 the supreme legal act, to which legislation and other regulations must conform  the basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the people in it  a written instrument embodying the rules of a political or social organization

 Lays down the key principles on which a society, political and legal system are built  Sets out the organisation of government  Guarantees rights and freedoms of its citizens  Strategic political act of a state and of a people  Legitimizes a democratic state before the international community  Facilitates stability

federal (multilayered) * written * rigid unitary * unwritten * flexible

Unit 12

 Promulgated on 22 December 1990, amended in 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2010  Contains the following sections: 1.Historical foundations 2.Basic provisions 3.Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms 4.Organization of government 5.The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia 6.Local and regional self-government 7.International relations 8.Amending the Constitution 9.Final provisions

1. Historical foundations  Outlines the history of the Croatian state, i.e. the political idea of Croatia as an independent state from the 7th century onwards  Draws upon the legacy of the rejection of communism and the political changes in the late 1980s and of the Homeland War “Respecting the will of the Croatian nation and all citizens, resolutely expressed in the free elections, the Republic of Croatia is hereby founded and shall develop as a sovereign and democratic state in which equality, freedoms and human rights are guaranteed and ensured, and their economic and cultural progress and social welfare promoted. “

2. Basic provisions  Define the Republic of Croatia as a unitary and indivisible, sovereign democratic and social state  Lay down the most fundamental features of the state: organisation of government, democratic principles, separation of powers, political parties, armed forces, the national flag, coat of arms, anthem, language and script, and the capital city

3. Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms  Set out the fundamental rights and freedoms of Croatian citizens  Transpose the provisions of the UN Convention of Human Rights  equality before the law, presumption of innocence, right to a fair trial, right to appeal court and administrative decisions, etc.

3. Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms  the right to life (prohibits the death penalty), freedom, freedom of movement, private life, communication, religion, beliefs, etc.  economic and social rights (work, property, social security, strike, family relations, education, etc.)

4. Organization of government  These provisions lay down the organisation, rights, duties and powers of: ◦ the Croatian Parliament, ◦ the President of the Republic of Croatia, ◦ the Government of the Republic of Croatia, ◦ the Judiciary, and ◦ the State Attorney’s Office

5. The Constitutional Court of the RC  Consists of 13 judges, appointed by the Croatian Parliament for an 8-year mandate  Selected from the ranks of reputable jurists, judges, state attorneys and attorneys  Not an actual court within the RC court system

5. The Constitutional Court of the RC  The Court’s main tasks are as follows: ◦ to decide on the conformity of laws with the Constitution, and of other regulations with the law and the Constitution ◦ to decide on constitutional complaints against individual court or administrative decisions (e.g. If the violate human rights and fundamental freedoms, etc.) ◦ to decide on jurisdictional disputes between the 3 branches of government ◦ to decide on the impeachment of the President of the RC ◦ to supervise the constitutionality and legality of elections and referenda

6. Local and regional self-government  This section regulates the right to local and regional self- government, the division into local administrative units (counties, municipalities, cities), local elections  Lays down the scope of competence of local self- government units, such as the organization of housing and urban planning, public utilities, child care, social welfare, primary health services, education and elementary schools, culture, physical education and sports, etc.

7. International relations  Concerns the areas of international agreements and association and secession  IA – regulates competence over and the ratification of international agreements, according to their content  Association and secession – regulates the procedure of acceding to alliances with other states – who can initiate the procedure and the number of votes in Parliament, i.e. on the referendum are necessary for such a decision to be passed

8. Amending the Constitution  This section regulates the procedure of amending the Constitution  Amendments may be proposed by one fifth of representatives in the CP, the President and the Government of the RC  The decision to amend must be approved by the majority of representatives  Amendments may be adopted only if a two-thirds majority of all representatives vote in favour

9. Final provisions  These provisions rescind the former House of the Counties of the Croatian Parliament and confers to the CP the obligation to enact a Constitutional Act implementing the Constitution

Thank you for your attention!